[83] The Red Wheelbarrow
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
-- William Carlos Williams
|
Simple, elegant, and wonderfully evocative... this is more painting than
poem.
thomas.
"Reading this poem is like peering at an ordinary object through a pin
prick in a piece of cardboard. The fact that the tiny hole arbitrarily
frames the object endows it with an exciting freshness that seems to
hover on the verge of revelation."
- Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren, Understanding Poetry.
[Biography]
William Carlos Williams was born September 17, 1883 in Rutherford, New
Jersey, to middle-class parents who were lovers of literature and visual
art. But Williams showed little interest in art until he attended the
University of Pennsylvania's medical school. It was there that he became
enamoured with poetry and was for some time torn between his parents'
wishes that he become a doctor and his own, less conventional
aspirations. While in Pennsylvania, Williams befriended the poet Ezra
Pound, a relationship that he later termed a watershed in his literary
career. Pound not only helped Williams develop his aesthetic of magism -
a poetic approach that emphasized the concrete over abstractions - but
also introduced him to a literary circle that included the flamboyant
poet Hilda Doolittle (H. D.). By the time Williams completed his
studies, he was committed to his writing; yet he still pursued a medical
career and maintained a private practice in Rutherford for over forty
years. From his medical practice Williams gained not only the financial
freedom to write what he wished, but also a rare and intimate insight
into the lives of common people.
Williams's immersion in and attachment to the lives of Rutherford's
townsfolk was mirrored in the aesthetic principles he developed over the
years. He consistently advocated and wrote literature that took its
themes from ordinary life and its voice from the patterns of common
speech. During much of his poetic career, however, these values ran
counter to those of the critically acclaimed poetry of the day - namely,
the classicist, academic, and formal poetry exemplified by T. S. Eliot
and Wallace Stevens. During the 1920s and 1930s Williams labored largely
in obscurity; with the publication of the first Paterson volumes in the
1940s, however, he gained wider recognition, and the emerging Beat
Movement poets of the 1950s venerated him for his rejection of
formalism. Shortly after receiving a Pulitzer Prize, Williams died on
March 4, 1963.
[Commentary]
The opening lines set the tone for the rest of the poem. Since the poem
is composed of one sentence broken up at various intervals, it is
truthful to say that "so much depends upon" each line of the poem. This
is so because the form of the poem is also its meaning. This may seem
confusing, but by the end of the poem the image of the wheelbarrow is
seen as the actual poem, as in a painting when one sees an image of an
apple, the apple represents an actual object in reality, but since it is
part of a painting the apple also becomes the actual piece of art.
Notice how the monosyllabic words in line 3 elongate the line, putting
an unusual pause between the word "wheel" and "barrow." This has the
effect of breaking the image down to its most basic parts. The reader
feels as though he or she were scrutinizing each part of the scene.
Using the sentence as a painter uses line and color, Williams breaks up
the words in order to see the object more closely.
The word "glazed" evokes another painterly image. Just as the reader is
beginning to notice the wheelbarrow through a closer perspective, the
rain transforms it as well, giving it a newer, fresher look. This new
vision of the image is what Williams is aiming for.
The last lines offer up the final brushstroke to this "still life" poem.
Another color, "white" is used to contrast the earlier "red," and the
unusual view of the ordinary wheelbarrow is complete. Williams, in
dissecting the image of the wheelbarrow, has also transformed the common
definition of a poem. With careful word choice, attention to language,
and unusual stanza breaks Williams has turned an ordinary sentence into
poetry.
- from the Gale Poetry Resource Center
http://www.gale.com/gale/poetry/poetset.html
From: "mike maguire" <magenta@>
I feel that the red wheelbarrow is the most simplistic poem that says
the most in my experience. it deals with all the senses in a way that
brings you back to "moments in time"
the contrast of the white chicken beside the red wheelbarrow is a
testament to the colours of the world we live in and that fall within
the spectrum of our site. The fact that it is glazed with rain takes you
back to the smells of youth when a storm finally breaks and everything
is fresh and clean with the sun coming back out.
the wheelbarrow is a symbol of moving earth for the purpose of gardening
and I think is directly related to the idea of sustenance while the
chicken also symbolizes
the need for food and the eggs which were the most amazing childhood
surprise of all if you ever had the good fortune of being able to gather
them. The opening line of the poem "so much depends" is indicative to me
that william carlos williams wanted to write a poem which would create
in us a thought process in regards to what is really important in life
and link us to memories of our senses in the past
based on the exposure an individual had to certain things. I believe
this right down to the front wheel of the barrel and the laws of physics
which are represented in the actual workings of a wheelbarrow in itself.
You can almost imagine a child getting run around the yard in the
memorables rides with dads and moms. Maybe i'm adding too much to a poem
that is so simple in nature, but I think that stretching the thought
process to the limit in this case is exactly what the author wanted us
to do. Each one of these thoughts opens up a hundred more doors, adds
empathy and feeling to our lives, in a way that can only add to the
development of a healthier, more inquisitive mind.
By the way when I first read this poem at the age of fourteen I thought
it sucked! In bringing
my kids up, we would sit there and discuss all the possibilities at
great lengths, and its funny, that at the age of 49 and the kids being
22 and 20, we all still remember the red wheelbarrow.
thank you wcw
mike maguire
From: Jim Petreszyn <jim.mad.co.planning@>
Her is my take on Williams "Red Wheel Barrow." It is not merely the
image of the wheelbarrow that is important here, but our own ability to
imagine. Where would we be today without imagination. We certainly
would have never reached to moon. Williams does a spectacular job of
putting such a simple sentence before us and allowing our mind's eye to
picture it so clearly. That is what "so much depends on."
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From: Spleath2@
I have to say the my take on this poem is completely different. The real point of the poem is that so much depends on perspective. It all has to do with where the line breaks are placed. For instance, at the end of the first line of the second stanza the reader is tricked more or less, one pictures a wheel but it is in fact a wheelbarrow. It is too much to explain in this limited space but think about it.
From: "mel foisy" <mfoisy@>
i have to agree with the person who said that "so much depends upon"
perspective. the line breaks show this clearly. It is important to know
that the author means "wheel barrow" instead of "wheel" and "rain water"
instead of "rain." take out "barrow" and "water" in the poem and you have a
completely different feel for the poem. the poem's main subject matter even
changes, from a wheelbarrow to a wheel. the dichotomy between red and white
still remains, but the feel for the poem is different. The "feel" for the
poem is really important here because the poet is painting a picture out of
a sentence. In art, the artistic take, or "feel," adds to the overall
meaning the viewer/ reader gets out of their experience.
From: Israel Cohen <izzy_cohen@>
so much depends upon
ONE MAN
AS [the] CORPOREALIZATION OF [the] MESSIAH
by the HAND of GOD, PRAISE/GLORY To the SON
And here's why:
Using ? = aleph, KH = het, kh = khaf, 3 = aiyin, a: = vowel "aye"
wheelbarrow = KHaDoFeN < Aramaic KHaD = one + ?oFeN = wheel.
red wheelbarrow = KHaDoFeN ?aDoM
KHaD BeN-?aDaM = one + man/human/person
rain water = Ma:-GeSHeM. Glazed = Z'khookhi.
with rainwater glazed = B'Ma:GeSHeM Z' khookhi
B'MaGSHiM MaSHiaKH = as [the] corporealization
of + [the] Messiah
Beside the = 3aL YaD Ha-
3aL YaDa: Ha- = by means of, through the
?a:L YaD = hand of God
white chickens = (tarnagol) HoDoo LaVaN
HoDah LaBeN = praise/thanks + to the son
HoD = glory
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This same process ... Hebrew --> Hebrew pun --> English translation ...
explains some English idioms. For example:
(cold enough) to freeze the balls off a ...
Brass Monkey
===========
The origin of this phrase seems to be Semitic, perhaps Aramaic
and finally Arabic. In this phrase, the P-sound (in Hebrew)
has become a B-sound as, for example, Naples --> Nablus.
It seems the following Semitic words are involved:
peh-lamed-tzadi PeLeTZ = shudder (as from cold) -->
peh-lamed-yod-zaiyin P'LiZ = brass
[compare palsy = a condition characterized by body part tremors]
kuf-feh-(vav)oo-aleph KaFoo? = freeze/frozen -->
kuf-(vav)oo-feh KooF = monkey
So, first of all, the Semitic equivalent of "brass monkey"
is a (near) homonym for, and therefore a pun on, the Semitic
equivalent of "shudder-frozen".
Giving the peh a B-sound and dropping the K causes
P'LiZ kaFoo? to sound like
BaLLS oFF.
So what we have here is the transliterated sound of
"brass monkey" [probably in Arabic] followed by its
translation into English: brass monkey.
By the skin of my teeth
======================
Compare: [to escape] "by the skin of [one's] teeth".
This phrase means "barely, hardly, with difficulty".
This phrase is a literal translation of Job 19:20,
in which Job says that he escaped B'3or SHinai
[= with the skin of my teeth]. Giving the 3=aiyin a
velar G/K sound, this is a Hebrew homonym/pun
on B'KoSHi [= barely, hardly, with difficulty].
best regards,
Israel Cohen
izzy_cohen@
From: "Bill Luoma" <bluoma@>
white chickens
(dick cheney, george bush, j. ashcroft, etc).
re this poem is not really a poem but an exceprt from a large poem called Spring
and All.
I recommend reading the original
Professor Brian O'blivion
From: "Sidky, Olga A (EFANE)" <Sidkyoa@>
From: "Ken Stephens" <nso4@>
It's stupid. Nothing only depends on a wet, red wheel barrow sitting
beside white chickens.
From: <darctom@>
I picture a painter saying this to himself as he paints. Maybe he paints
the wheel first and the adds the barrel after, adding it into what he is
saying too. Then he adds the details and the chickens. This poem is an
artist's thought process. The result is that the chickens wouldn't be
as white and the rain couldn't glaze anything if it weren't for the red
wheel
............barrel
From: "BARBARA AMES" <whiteout101@>
I have to say that this poem makes no damn sense, all yall must b on
crack if u can understand wut its supposed to mean
From: "Debbie Brown" <dbprojectsolutions@>
this is a great poem dude
From: "cccustard" <cccustard@>
This works for me on two levels.
First there is the red wheelbarrow, and then there are the white
chickens. And holding the two together is the glassy rain.
I like to think of the wheelbarrow as say the fourth or fifth floor, and
the chicken as the ninth floor, and the rain as the emergency fire
stairs.
They are all dependant upon each other and yet upon nothing.
It wouldn't be the same if it was sleet or even a heavy mist. No way.
Custard.
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From: "magnezzeron" <magnezzeron@>
Of course, he makes us forget that chickens are not ALL white and that the
wheelbarrow cannot be ALL red. We are led, like ducklings behind their
mother on the pond of life, along a spiralling helter skelter of a ride
where one is forced to accept concept as reality. One immediately thinks of
God and war (particularly the conflict in Kashmir) and then on to
whether.... weather.... and so on.
Incidentally, I liked Israel Cohen's take on all this however I'm less
accepting of white chickens = (tarnagol) HoDoo LaVaN
HoDah LaBeN = praise/thanks + to the son
HoD = glory
but rather HoDah LaBen = Chicken praise. The ifference is
subtle and yet obvious to me, particularly when viewed through a pin-prick
hole.
Let's not also forget the old Yorkshire and England no. 3 Barrie Leadbeater
when he challenged Hockney to 'explain his splash' and found Hockney wanting
only because no-one had ever really seen a splash thus. The same can be
applied to the chickens. And wheelbarrow.
Darius Sneth
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From: "Harold McQuestion" <hmcquestion@>
This is an imagist poem, it is meant to create a picture in your mind - a
mental snapshot. Two of my favorite poems that are similar are "i know a
man" by Robert Creeley and "In a Station At The Metro" by Ezra pound. I
never ask myself what a poem means, I only care if it inspires me or changes
my mood or places an 8 X 10 in my mental rolodex.
From: James Kistner <nfnyjim@>
Regarding The Red Wheelbarrow, I now am fully aware of why the facist Pound thought WC Williams works un-American. It wasn't the race card, Williams had no purpose in his writing, except to divert his attention from the labors that paid for his bread and butter, doctoring. He did not need to have an affinity to 'mankind' as Eliot or Pound. He wrote of nothing of import. That is why he claims in this joke, "in all depends". I bet cash he wrote it while on the crapper. James C. Kistner, Niagara County Community College, NF. NY.
<nfnyjim@>
VERITAS TAMETSI CAELA CADANT
"Truth, though the heavens may fall."
---------------------------------
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From: Koolpopoki@
Last night, I quoted the first part of this poem to one of the people I work
with at a consulting firm party. What I meant was that ordinary, everyday
things or actions (in my case, a casual conversation with the person I may be
replacing on one of the firm's contracts) can have a very large impact. Also, I
had recently done some home landscaping that involved extensive use of a
wheelbarrow and had become newly aware of the simple machine's importance.
I'm amazed at the variety of comments you've received, though I'm not sure
how seriously to take some of them. I think it's a wonderful poem.
From: "Audrey Dittman" <laxchic430@>
Ok I personal, hate this peom right now. Simply becasue I know it is
supposed to know some significant thing but I CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT!!!Th
person who read this poem top me adn some friends last year said that it
took him 12 years to fugure out what the white chikens meannt, and he
won't tell me. But this poem is going to Drive me up the wall!!!!
From: SpiDeRsUniTedx69@
Hi, my name is Olivia Williams. I read your review on that poem "The red
Wheelbarrow." i thought i would ask you why you liked it. Personally, i didnt like
it at all. I thought it was strangely...stupid. My six year old sister could
write the same thing.
Thanks for your time,
Olivia Williams
From: "Brandon Finerty" <typingaway@>
it makes no sense but it 's pretty cool
From: "Richard Stead" <rfv.stead@>
if ever you wanted to think that the universe could be contained within
a drop of rainwater read The Red Wheelbarrow
Richard
From: rocketronny@
=============================I love this poem because it stirs people to think.
It reminds me that as a self centered human I tend to believe everything
in my immediate vicinity can be viewed as being of importance and
interconnected. Then I see a Hubble telescope picture of a far away
view. I am snapped back to humility by Gods handy work and for me
nothing depends so much upon anything.
The Red Wheelbarrow makes me smile and I feel good.
Ron
============================
From: "The Paint Guy" <thepaintguy@>
From: "The Paint Guy" <thepaintguy@>
Mooole rat, Mooole rat
Your face is so beautiful
Mooole rat, mooole rat
Your wings are so flappy and purple
the way the veins pop out are electrifying
Moooole rat, Moooole rat
You are so GREAT!
- The Flying Mole Rat
From: "The Paint Guy" <thepaintguy@>
I think that it's amazing that people that do absolutely nothing can do
absolutley nothing with popular approval because some critic says that their
nothing is inspired. What's inspired about this? Poetry is significant
because of its ability to reach out to human emotion on a different level
than just ordinary words. This doesn't reach out to anyone. Instead, it
makes people over-analyze something that is truly meaningless (except maybe
to Williams). Are we so starved for poetic talent that this is what we will
now consider genius?
From: "Gambrel, Robert" <rgambrel@>
I like the poem.
From: "The Akey's" <targa@>
I think that the red wheelbarrow is a symbol of death and the red is
blood of slaughtered chickens that were carried in the wheel barrow ,
just look at the original writing of the poem each sentence is broken up
and the shape of the sentences resemble an axe.
From: "Crystal Smith" <rebelcrys@>
I'm thinking that a wheelbarrow is supposed to be thought of according
to its use. It's used to pile up heavy things and haul them off with
relative ease. In the same way it can be used to pile up your problems,
stresses, emotional problems that are heavy on their own...and plop them
someplace out of your mind. Now the glazed with rain and white chickens
part I'm thinking shouldn't require so much thought. I'm thinking of a
wheelbarrow sitting out in the rain beside the chicken coop..almost as
if it's waiting for its next use. The owner knows where it is when he
needs it and even neglects it until it's proven useful for him again.
From: "Crystal Smith" <rebelcrys@>
sorry to include my name....it's crystal :D
I'm thinking that a wheelbarrow is supposed to be thought of according
to its use. It's used to pile up heavy things and haul them off with
relative ease. In the same way it can be used to pile up your problems,
stresses, emotional problems that are heavy on their own...and plop them
someplace out of your mind. Now the glazed with rain and white chickens
part I'm thinking shouldn't require so much thought. I'm thinking of a
wheelbarrow sitting out in the rain beside the chicken coop..almost as
if it's waiting for its next use. The owner knows where it is when he
needs it and even neglects it until it's proven useful for him again.
From: Happyg270@
I think this poem does actually make some sense. You have to have an
imagination, and try to actually picture what is being said in the poem. If you dont
have an imagination then yes this poem will not make a bit of sense to you.
From: Happyg270@
April Butcher,
I honestly think this poem makes sense, it makes people think
outside the box. I also think that poetry makes people use their imagination.
I believe that for some people to make sense of poems they need to have an
imagination
From: "Gambrel, Robert" <rgambrel@>
I think that the wheelbarrow should be yellow.
From: "Gambrel, Robert" <rgambrel@>
I think that is a very goo poem because it is short.
Justin Carey
From: PinkAngelLips@
This poem has shown a good use of imagery. It brings pictures of a pleasent
day on a farm to mind. It makes the overall mood quite peaceful and
pleasant. Job well done.
From: Templin2005@
Reading the Red Wheelbarrow is about as life changing as watching grass
grow. It would be better for you to smack yourself with a brick and run into
oncoming traffic than to waste your time reading this meaningless and pointless
poem about wheelbarrows and chickens.
From: KBerman@ Wed Jul 6 11:41:07 2005
From: MWrestlingman@
ok people im 16 years old and fully understand this poem!!! he is watching a
child die and can do nothing to save him, he then looks out the window for
comfort and sees the wheel barrow!
- XXHardcoreDEWXX
From: Anthony.Jackson@ Tue Sep 27 07:53:12 2005
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It seem like some significant event... Childbirth, death, both maybe...
had perhaps forced the poet to transfer significance to a visual scene
he encountered on the occasion. For this reason The Red Wheelbarrow
haunts me.
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From: robertreis@ Mon Oct 3 14:23:29 2005
In teaching this poem, I wanted my 7th graders to consider two
perspectives. First, there are the obvious "things" in the poem such as
the barrow, the water, and the chickens. The kids may reply that this is
what the poem is about. But I prompted them to look further and examine
what relationship each of these "things" have for one another. Finally,
a student spoke up and remarked that the first line seems to have
significance to set the stage for the rest of the poem. I asked him what
he meant, he replied that this is a poem about how things depend on
other things, along with people, and so on, and so on. This was such a
great moment, since I had them write about a connection they can make to
the deeper, interpretative meaning of the poem. We jotted a few words
down - depends, rely, need, trust, hope. Then, to help the students who
otherwise were stuck with the literal understanding of the poem, I had
them ask themselves, "Who is my wheelbarrow? Who is my chicken? What is
the rainwater in my life?"
The writing really took off at this point. We had students equating the
wheelbarrow with parents, teachers, and the government. They equated
chickens with themselves, or even pets and younger siblings. They
equated rain water with money, food, resources, even love.
It was a rather deep discussion and we were all amazed how such a simple
vignette of sorts could yield so many deep thoughts. It's the perfect
poem to get students to distinguish the literal and the interpretative
in poetry.
From: "Alex \"insert nickname here\" Poterack" <grammarpimp@>
I think this poem is like Peter Sellers in the movie Being There.
--
Unless your name is Bob Dylan or Weird Al, rock lyrics are not poetry.
From: Sherri Golkow <chococow333@>
whoever was making the reference to hebrew, well reading it over they didnt stay constant with one language.... B' (buh) (the letter bet) in hebrew means in, not from. ben dosnt mean person, it means son/son of. mah geshem dosnt translate to rainwater, yes geshem is rain, good there, but mah means what, so where did that fit in? and the rest, i wont even address, none of that made sence
---------------------------------
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